By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

THE decision to exempt games of chance, gambling and lotteries from Value-Added Tax has sparked calls for the government to clarify its position on web shop gaming.

A revised list of exemptions was listed in the October draft legislation obtained by Tribune Business - more recent than the previous leaked version of the Bill - which reveals that electricity will now be VAT exempt for both residential and business consumers.

Less than eight months from the proposed July 2014 implementation date, both government and private sector stakeholders yesterday admitted that the growing resistance to the proposed tax regime stemmed from “broad” lack of understanding and education.

Ishmael Lightbourne, a VAT consultant within the Ministry of Finance, hit out at efforts to “destabilise” the implementation process by the business community, namely Super Value president Rupert Roberts.

Speaking at a town meeting last night, Mr Lightbourne acknowledged that resistance was “emerging from every sector”, adding that most Bahamians had not come to terms with the country’s economic circumstances.

Noting that the government was behind in public education on tax reform, he charged that the process had been hijacked by an uninformed, ignorant VAT debate.

Co-Chairman of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce’s tax coalition, Gowon Bowe countered that resulting “hysteria” over the proposed tax system was due to the government’s failure to bring clarity on concerns over potential impact to economic recovery and growth.

Last night, Mr Bowe said: “I know that the IDB up to this point in time is still conducting (assessments). We have been assured that once it’s completed, it will be shared as it should be shared with the wider public. One of the things we want clarity on is in terms of saying that the studies that may have been completed before now that helped make this determination, share those with us and the community.

He said: “Rather than us arguing over something that may be very easily explained by the studies that may have been performed, if there have not been specific studies to the Bahamas then let’s give consideration to making sure that the appropriate studies have been done.”

“It is imperative,” said Mr Bowe, “that they start to release information. You can only hold citizens accountable if they haven’t read it and it’s available, if it’s not available, it’s very difficult to say well the reaction or behaviours are uninformed or hysterical because you haven’t given them enough to quell that hysteria or to allow them to make reasoned decisions or to make reasoned debate, and so right now government will admit that they are far behind the eight ball in terms of what has been released.”

Mr Bowe also called on the government to ensure there was equal distribution of who “bears the pain” of VAT, adding that unregulated businesses should not be allowed to operate.

He said: “That’s not a debate for us to consider, it’s one for the government to make sure there is equitable distribution. So when we talk about tax reform, one of the key things is now we want equal distribution of who bears the pain, we know that there will be pain but it has to be done equally.  You can’t have a sector of a society or economy operating where they are not contributing. It has to be made to understand that one way or the other, (any business) has to either be a contributor or cease in the operations.”

Said Mr Bowe: “You cannot say to the citizens and wider population ‘feel pain’ when there isn’t a clear equal pain being felt by those within the sector, and that doesn’t just speak to the executives, that speaks to the entire public sector. There has to be greater efficiency, greater productivity, when we look at how we spend our monies it has to be done in a wiser manner and when we have make sure we are paying off debt. We have to treat it as a business.”

He added: “I know there is great intrigue around the legislation, concerning the gaming houses in particular and some of the other elements that may be exempted, and I think the primary focus really needs to be on how do we get to that answer. The legislation is a little bit of putting the cart before the horse. From the perspective of saying let us understand how we got (to VAT) so we can have greater consensus and buy-in so when we start to drill in to the legislation, we can say ‘okay are these the right exemptions?’”

A link between organised crime and webshop operations in the Bahamas became a touchy subject in the House of Assembly this week when Free National Movement Deputy Leader Loretta Butler-Turner called into question an admission by Tall Pines MP Leslie Miller that he bought numbers.

Gaming Board Chairman and Fort Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins, supported the points raised by the Tall Pines MP concerning Mrs Butler-Turner’s awareness of the numbers industry as she was a cabinet minister prior to the change in government.

Adding that his next comments were not to be taken as an insult, he noted that the politicians on both sides of the political divide have said one thing while in opposition and the “exact opposite” when in government.

Other exempt services include religious services, diplomatic and embassy services.

According to the Ministry of Finance’s notes, gaming activities were exempted because the sector is already taxed under the Lotteries and Gaming Act, and the Casino Act.

See Tribune Business for more on the October draft legislation.